Gala Decorations and Views

The gala committee did a phenomenal job with the decorations. There were so many tiny details that did not go unnoticed with us!

There were pictures of kids as the backdrop of the stage--we knew almost all of them! I loved seeing those smiling faces!

Each place setting had a menu with a different child's picture and story on the back. Gala-goers got to read about 800+ different children that have walked through the doors of RMH! You may remember that one of our friends recently lost her son Malachi, who was a fellow trach kid. When they sat at their place at our table, Malachi's sister had his picture and story at her place! It was such a sweet moment for them.

Whether they meant to or not, the gala colors coordinated perfectly with the colors in the carpet! It really looked nice with the yellow, red, and blue.

These trees lined the hall of the hotel where the cocktail hour was. There were 700 pictures of kids hanging from the sparkling branches, and it was breathtaking. This picture does not do it justice. Each photo was hand-cut and I can only imagine how much time it took to do this! I absolutely loved it--my favorite decoration by far!

Can I just say that only The Ronald McDonald House would bring their therapy dogs to a formal gala?!? I LOVE THIS!!! What an awesome way to show people what life in the House is like!

This was a glimpse of what the cocktail hour looked like. Yeah...a bit crowded! I grabbed my glass of red wine* in one hand and Abby in the other, and we high-tailed it out of there!

*No, I did not pull a Shelton Cooper during my speech and go up there intoxicated! I drank my one glass of wine over three hours, thank you very much!

Thank goodness for the green room for the RMH families! They had coloring books, crafts, and snacks to entertain the kids during the waiting game. We hid there during the very crowded cocktail hour.

Charm City Cakes made this ridiculously cool cake for the House. They are so good for the House and make cakes for them all of the time. If you look closely, there are SO many details that depict what goes on at the House. It was so cool!!!

This is obviously not a great picture, but it does give you an idea of the number of people there during the dinner service...which was fancy, fancy food, I might add! After a salad of butternut squash and shredded beets over a bed of arugula with goat cheese sprinkled on top (which, for the record, I loved...but it was lost on my boys!), we had filet mignon and a crab cake. Matt got two (reportedly amazing) filets, and I got two absolutely delicious crab cakes! It was a win-win situation!

The servers were so sweet and accommodating. I think they would have brought Abby just about anything she would have eaten! :) They brought her a little plate of fruit, and she happily ~~munched~~ sucked on a strawberry while I ate my dinner. Yes, I realize how dangerous this was with the white cuffs on that dress, but it worked out okay.

They even had rock candy for the kids at the end of the night! (Matt still thinks that these may have actually been sugar stirrers for the coffee that we never saw. He may have been right, but Abby thought it was rock candy and thoroughly enjoyed it, so I'm going with that!)

Next up: The play-by-play of the Gala in as many photos as I can gather! :)

Cerebrocostomandibular Syndrome

If you happen to pick up the latest Reader's Digest, there is an article in there about Piper Breinholt , a four year old with CCMS. If you've been around here a while, you'll remember wayyyyyy back when we first received Abby's diagnosis that I was able to speak to Piper's mom, Reagan. The article is more about their story and not as much about the ins and outs of CCMS, but I think it's probably enough to get some people googling it and I'm hoping a few will end up here. Every once in a while, I give a blog post the title of Cerebrocostomandibular Syndrome so that it would show up in Google. My ever-present hope is that people will stumble across my blog and 1) be encouraged by the hope we have in Christ, 2) feel a connection with someone in a similar situation as them, or 3) get excited over the miracles that have been performed in Abby's life!! (a combination of all 3 is great too!) :) Notice that it's not to get famous and it ...

Bath Time Photos!!

As promised, here are lots of photos of Abby's first bath. Caleb was supposed to be in bed, but the bathroom is right next to his room... "I'm not too sure about this..." Once she learned how to splash, she was all smiles! Her first good hair wash! Gotta protect the trach! She really liked getting water poured on her head. It was cute! Smiley (and bubbly) for Daddy while he dried her off. All clean!! (Note the Lysol wipes in that last picture. They are NEVER far away!)

Imagination Movers Photo Recap

Seriously, The Imagination Movers were so much fun! They played lots of their own music, with some classic rock mixed in for the adults. There were also quite a few jokes and references to Baltimore, which was kind of fun. The whole night centered around this robot named Rock-o-Matic, or "Rocko." This is Mover Scott, and he wears Wobble Goggles that help him see new ideas. Caleb and Abby have a pair of goggles too. :) There are 4 main Movers that are part of the TV show, but they have 2 extra movers to play instruments and do back-up vocals in their live tour. Abby finished up her feed before the show started so that she would be free to dance! My dancing queen did NOT want to sit in my lap. The row in front of us was empty, and that is where she stood almost the entire show--dancing the night away. My Imagination Movers Caleb did his share of singing and dancing too. He knows m...

Life as a Leach

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